Who am I?

The DC VOICE Ostrich, a member of DC VOICE, is dedicated to challenging the community to get their heads out of the sand. The success of D.C. Public Schools depends on community involvement in the reform process. Everyone from the community should have a voice in that reform. DC Voice and the DC Voice Ostrich are committed to inform and mobilize the public to hold both the schools and the community accountable for providing high quality teaching and learning for all.

The
success of the Cincinnati Community schools has brought positive national
attention to the Cincinnati Public Schools. The most exciting news from
Cincinnati is how high the graduation rate has climbed, from 51% to 82%. The Urban Teachers Federation (UTF)
reports, “the district has moved from academic emergency to “academic watch” to
“continuous improvement” to “effective” as of 2010, the only urban district in
the state with that distinction.” These great changes have been accredited to
the adoption of community schools, full service schools that provide a range of
resources for students, both academic and health related. For example, the UTF
also notes that 49 of Cincinnati’s 55 public schools have two mental health
clinicians on school premises.

Started
in 2001, the Cincinnati Community Learning Centers (CLCs) seek to “support student achievement, revitalize neighborhoods and
maximize the community’s return on their financial investments…providing access
for students, families and community to health, safety and social services, as
well as recreational, educational and cultural opportunities.” The Cincinnati model has been described
as a “cradle to career” educational support system.

Urban
school districts like New York, Knoxville, Los Angeles and Washington have
mulled over the implementation of community schools in their districts. The
success of Cincinnati may be replicable, but implementing these systems may
take time. Community schools ideologies have been adopted by successful private
charter enterprises, in example Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) and the
Harlem Children’s Zone. Both provide additional and remedial support services
to promote a more holistic methodology of learning to children.

So what does this mean for schools in
Washington, DC? The good news is that DC VOICE, a community-based
organization, has researched and promoted the development of community schools
here in DC. The City Council passed legislation to establish at least five
community schools, and allotted $1 million in the 2013 budget for building community
schools. The Mayor has placed the responsibility for implementing this
initiative in the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). The
bad news is that progress has stalled and the legislatively mandated Community
Schools Advisory Committee that will plan and oversee implementation has not yet
convened. The good news is that the Office of Boards and Commissions (OBC) has
begun soliciting membership on this Committee and reports being in the final
stages of identifying the Committee's full membership. OSSE is working
with the OBC to have appointments made as soon as possible, so the Community
Schools Advisory Committee can convene.

DC
VOICE will continue to press for action to establish Community Schools
here.The Cincinnati story shows
not only that it can be done, but that that approach to education makes a great
difference in how well schools perform and how well children achieve.We’ve come too far to stop now.

Voice
your support for community schools through DC VOICE. Tweet your opinions to
@DCVOICE, “Like” DCVOICE on Facebook or send us an email at dcvoice@dcvoice.org!
To find out more about DC VOICE and how to get involved, visit our involvement
page on our website, http://www.dcvoice.org/getinvolved1.html!

Following the lead of 40 other states, DC has adopted the
Common Core Standards for its public schools.These standards are designed to
provide a framework for comparison among states and keep students and educators
on the same page nationwide. Supported by DC School Chancellor Michelle Rhee,
The DC State Board of Education voted in the standards on July 21, 2010 by a
margin of 6 to 1. Unfortunately, since little public discourse regarding the
standards occurred prior to their adoption, some citizens are skeptical of
their applicability here.

The standards
are comprised of long term and grade specific standards for English Language
Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. According to the Common Core Standards Initiative,
the body that produces reports outlining the standards, the core standards seek
to promote higher level learning processes. For example, the ELA standards
approach reading, writing, speaking/listening and language as related skills
and integrate their assessment. They also embed media and research skills
within the ELA standards. The Math standards provide clear and specific
benchmarks for proficiency, but also stress conceptual understanding, measured
through one’s ability to justify their work.

The Common Core Standards have been central to a local and
national discourse on the standardization of education. One common criticism of
the standards is that they water down education through standardization.
According to educator Marion Brady the common core standards are flawed because
they “assume that what kids need to know is covered by one or another of the traditional
core subjects. In fact, the unexplored intellectual terrain lying between and
beyond those familiar fields is vast.” Others argue that national
standards stifle teacher independence within the classroom. But documents from
the Common Core Standards Initiative assert that the standards do not dictate
instruction methods: “The standards define what all students should know and be
able to do, not how teachers should teach.” Nor do standards set a ceiling on
what kids can be taught, just a floor.

If implementation continues here as planned, the current standardized assessment, the
DC CAS will be replaced by an assessment based on the Common Core Standards by
2014 DC. Hopefully, there will be opportunities for
public discourse in preparation for the change, so that parents and
communitiesgain agreater understanding of the Common Core
Standards and what they mean for students and their teachers.

The
District of Columbia has increased student enrollment in charter schools, well
above the national enrollment numbers. Almost 44% of District of Columbia Public School (DCPS) students are enrolled
in charter schools, yet only 4% of students are enrolled in charter schools
nationally.[1]
But despite the popularity of charter schools, especially within the District
of Columbia, are these schools effective and accountable?

The
Stanford University Center on Research
for Education Outcomes (CREDO) published,
“Multiple Choice: Charter School
Performance in 16 States,” declaring
that charter schools may not be more effective than regular schools, in the
aggregate. Published in 2009, CREDO’s “analysis
looks at student achievement growth on state achievement tests in both reading
and math, controlling for student demographics and eligibility for program
support such as free or reduced-price lunch and special education”.[2]CREDO maintains that most
charter schools are not better than public schools; in fact, almost 37% of
charter schools perform worse and only 17% of charter schools perform better
than regular public schools. On the individual level, the CREDO found that the
charter students in the District of Columbia receive no significant advantage
than their public school peers of the same race and class.[3]

The
report has been controversial; especially as the popularity of the charter
school movement grows. Many have critiqued the study for being misleading in
its interpretation and for having internal structural, methodological problems
with collecting data. For example, disadvantaged students (English Language
Learners, students with special needs, low-income students, and black students)
are recorded as performing better in charter schools than their peers in public
schools.[4]
These are great gains for minority classes and disadvantaged students.

Despite
these critiques, there have been other studies that confirm the Stanford
results. Mathematica, a policy and public research institute, suggests that the
findings are reputable.[5]
Charter schools are popular, but there may be some perceptual issues with how
much all charter schools (not only
the high-performing charter schools) can reform education. These independent
structures alone are probably not enough to fix the entire education system.

There
is some evidence to suggest that lacking legal frameworks for holding charter
schools accountable and poor results are intertwined. For example, this Economist article ties Ohio’s lack of charter school
regulation with Ohio’s poor performing charter schools.[6]
On the other hand, Ohio’s public school system, particularly the Cincinnati
Public School’s have flourished under the community schools, comprehensive
approach to learning model. Others, such as Bill Perkins, the Harlem Senate
representative, see charter schools as the public sector scrimping on the
democratic promise to educate the general public.[7]

Some
may suggest that these flaws are naturally fixable, as charters with low
enrollment due to poor performance are easily closeable. There must be a greater
public transparency and legal oversight over charter schools to ensure that
their successes are well deserved. Immediate intervention that holds charter
schools up to some standards of educational achievement must be observed,
especially as these schools receive increasing amounts of federal funding. A
proper measure of accountability is an important feature in assessing charter
school’s performance. These processes are an important step in continuing a
realistic discussion of the role of charter schools in public education;
especially as more and more urban public school systems, like DC, rely on
charters to educate children.

The
District of Columbia maintains that there charter schools are regulated, so DC
public charter schools are of the highest quality. The Office of the
Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has set up the Office of Public Charter
School Financing and Support (OPCSFS), with the quality assurance program to
regulate the amount of public funding that charter schools are receiving and
their annual progress of students. The OPCSFS financing, technical assistance,
and grants to improve the quality of public charter schools and supports the
exchange of best practices between traditional public and public charter
schools.[8],
[9]The “Quality Initiatives” program is “designed to improve the
academic achievement of students attending DC public charter schools”.8 However, the Initiative neglects to mention
what it means to be a successful charter school, nor what happens to charter
schools when they fail to meet appropriate standards. It would be important to
see how these two programs interact with the DC public to provide the most
accurate and up to date information about the success of public schools (both
traditional and charter). This will be an important tool in promoting
transparency of all schools, facilitating better school choice within the
District.

If
charter schools may not be as effective as advertised, then they need to be
more accountable to the public. I would not say that charter schools are a poor
choice, but I would hold that the perception of them as naturally superior to
public schools might be misleading. I would urge for a greater release of
school performance information, by all types of schools as the greatest tool
that families need to make the best choice for their children. The academic
performance of students is a school’s product—families must be able to compare
all products to make the best decision.

[3] Stanford University. Center
for Research on Education Outcomes, “CHARTER SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN THE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOUND TO BE SIMILAR TO THEIR TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL
PEERS”. National
Release, 2009. Print